Fascia board for brackets for venetian blinds



J. S. STARK Feb. 3, 1942.

FASCIA BOARD FOR BRACKETS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed Dec. 30, 1940 V BY ytflfl INVENTOR.

WM ATTORNEY) Patented Feb. 3, 1942 FASCIA BOARD FOR BRACKETS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS John S. Stark, Sharonville, Ohio, assignor to Clopay Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 30, 1940, Serial No. 372,265

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in Venetian blinds. The invention is directed primarily to a structure by which the appearance dow frame, or upon the forward, vertically extending face so that the fascia board may house the blind structure regardless of the manner in which it is fastened to the window frame.

Other objects of the invention and the advantages it provides are described in the following specification of a preferred embodiment of the improvement which is illustrated in the drawing.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is an elevation showing the appearance of the upper part of a Venetian blind as covered and enclosed by the fascia board structure of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view showing the assembly of the bracket supports of the invention with the fascia board. In this view, the Venetian blind is omitted since it forms no part of the invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a bracket constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the bracket taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

The Venetian blinds with which the fascia board of the present invention is adapted to be used may be of a typecomprising, for instance, a tilt rail, rotatably joumalled in brackets disposed at its' ends; pairs of ladder tapes depend ing from the tilt rail;. and blind slats carried upon the rungs of the ladder tapes in the usual manner.

It is desirable to house and conceal the upper portion of the blind structure to improve the general appearance, since the tilt rail and the brackets are not attractive. A fascia board is employed for this purpose and it comprises either a plain or a configurated panel member III which extends across the upper part of the blind, and forwardly from it, so as to conceal the operating and support mechanism and the tilt rail. Fascia boards have been used in the past and they are not new with this invention; but, heretofore, the

structures for supporting them, and indeed the boards themselves, have been expensive to construct, as well as complex to install. The present invention is directed to a new kind of fascia board, and a .pair of brackets adapted to be used to support the board upon the window frame. The invention residesparticularly in the simplicity of these brackets and their inexpensiveness.

The brackets of the present invention, generally speaking, are U- or C-shaped members having two arms II and I2 which reside in substantially parallel relationship, and a cross member 83 which interconnects these arms. The arm H is of substantial length, being approximately equal, for instance, to the width of the fascia board which the bracket is to support. The other arm I2 is somewhat shorter, andit constitutes what may conveniently be termed, the back arm member. This arm portion I2 is adapted to be fastened to the vertically extending face of a window frame. The member l3 interconnecting the two arms is likewise adapted to be fastened to a horizontally extending portion of a window frame; for instance, the underneath portion of the frame at the top thereof. Therefore, in the event that the Venetian blind is suspendedin the frame recess from a horizontally extending portion of the frame, the brackets of the present invention are fastened through the portion l3 interconnecting the two arms. In the alternative, if the blind be mounted on the forward, vertically extending face of the frame, the brackets of the invention are fastened through the back members l2. In either position of mounting, the front arm extends in front of the Venetian blind structure in position to carry the fascia board forwardly of the blind to conceal the operating mechanism of it.

The brackets of the invention are formed in pairs, one right-handed member and one lefthanded member, and'the forward arm ll of each of the brackets is configurated for the attachment thereto of the fascia board. The preferred structure by which the fascia board is supported from the brackets is illustrated best in Figures 3 and4. Pockets lll4 are provided at the forward faces of both brackets, and these pockets are of such dimension that the end portions of the board or panel are adapted to be disposed within them and be concealed and supported by them. The pocket of the left-hand bracket member has its entrance at the right side of it. and vice versa, the pocket in the bracket for the left side of the blind is enterable from the left.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the fascia board itself is curved cros's-sectionally, and the pockets for receiving the ends of the board are similarly curved. It is also preferable that the fascia board be made of a paper material such as chip board covered with a glazed paper of appropriate appearance. The paper structure enables the board to be made very inexpensively and it may be endowed with the transverse curvature at the time that it is fabricated. In place of paper, metal may be used. In either instance the curvature may be such that the board may be sprung slightly when inserted into the bracket recesses, it being held in place through its own tendency to become unsprun The curvature of the board in the transverse direction in turn provides several advantages which otherwis could not be obtained in an inexpensive structure. Since the board is a relatively thin member, it is flexible longitudinally, but the curvature provides such a stiffness that there is no danger of a relatively long, thin board bowing or sagging after it has been mounted on the window frame. This curvature also improves the appearance of the board and an ornamental effect is achieved without any increase in cost. Lastly, by configurating the pocket to the curvature of the board, the forwardly extending arm of the bracket which supports the pocket is stiffened so that the metal of which the bracket is made can be of a relatively thin gauge and still be appropriatel rigid.

While the supporting pockets may be fabricated separately and then fastened to the forward faces of the brackets, the bracket structures can be made more inexpensively by offsetting a portion of the metal at the forward face of each bracket to constitute the pockets. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the metal of the forward face of the bracket is cut along the line l5, which resides substantially centrally of the forward face. At one side of this cut, the metal is bent to form a recess which has its entrance-way along the out line. Thus the face of the forward member of a bracket made in this manner is divided into three component parts; the seat portion IS, the marginal edge 11, and the recess or pocket M which resides intermediate the marginal edge and the seat portion. Normally, the pocket or recess has its entrance-way adjacent the seat portion and the fascia board may therefore have its end supported within the recess, with the next adjacent portion of the fascia board residing in engage- 1 ment with and supported by the seat portion.

The outer face 18 of the pocket M, as well as serving to hold the fascia board and bracket, lends the appearance of a metal binding to the end of the fascia board and therefore improves the appearance of the structure. When the fascia member is installed between the brackets, the

only parts of the brackets that are visible are the.

scribed, at the one end of the Venetian blind.

The fascia board is then seated in the pocket of this bracket. The other bracket member is positioned so that its pocket is seated over the other end of the board, and the latter member is then fastened to the frame. In the event that it is desired to dismantle the Venetian blind, for instance, touclean it, the fascia boards can be removed from the brackets without unfastening them, simpl by warping the board so that one end is free to be removed from its pocket support. Thus, the flexibility of the fascia board itself enables it to be removed from the bracket without unnecessary dismantling while the transverse curvature of the board provides the rigidity which is desirable to prevent it from warping or sagging after it has been installed.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A bracket for holding a fascia board for a Venetian blind, comprising a u-shaped member having an arm adapted to be mounted upon a vertically residing face of a window framing member, another arm adapted, alternatively, to be mounted on a horizontally extending face of a window framing member and a third arm which resides in spaced, substantially parallel relationship to the first arm, the said third arm having a portion of its face bent out of plane of configuration of the face so as to extend forwardly therefrom to constitute a recess having an entrance opening residing adjacent said face for receiving an endwise portion of a fascia board.

2. A combination of a fascia board and a pair of supporting brackets therefor, each of the said brackets comprising a front face member having L-shaped means extending forwardly from said front face member and providing therewith a recess for receiving an endwise portion of said fascia board and means for mounting said bracket upon a window framing member in such position that the fascia board, when inserted in said recess, is held in a substantially vertical position.

3. The combination of a paper-board fascia member, said fascia board member being curved convexly in its transverse direction, and bracket members for holding said fascia board by supporting it at its ends, each of said brackets comprising a forward face having means extending forwardly from said face for providing a recess that is curved to the approximate curvature of said fascia board, and arm means for mounting said bracket upon a window framing member in such position that when the endwise portions of the fascia board are inserted in the recesses of said brackets, the fascia board extends in a substantially vertical direction.

4. A bracket for supporting a fascia board for a Venetian blind, comprising a sheet metal member having a forward panel portion, means forming with the said forward panel portion a U- shaped cavity arranged toprovideahousing forreceiving an endwise portion of a fascia board, the said forward face of said bracket member having a portion adjacent said housing to cooperate therewith as a seat for engagement with a portion of the fascia board adjacent the endwise portion thereof inserted in said housing.

5. A bracket for holding a fascia board which comprises a substantially U-shaped member having a pair of arms residing in spaced, substantiall parallel relationship, one of said arms constituting means for attaching said bracket to a window framing member, and the other of said arms comprising means constituting a housing for re ceiving an endwise portion of a fascia board, the said housing being curved in its longitudinal direction to complement the contour of a fascia board which is curved in its transverse direction.

6. A fascia board for a Venetian olind which comprises paper-board material folded upon itself and covered with paper presenting a finished, smooth exterior surface, the said paper being adhesively united with said paper board, the said ward panel having a member extending laterally in the longitudinal direction of the panel and having another member extending in parallel relation with the surface of the panel from the lateral member, the saidlateralandparallelmembers constituting with the panel a cavity for reception of an endwise portion of a fascia board.

8. A bracket for holding fascia board, comprising a sheet metal member having a forward panel portion, an armportion adapted to be attachedtoa vertically residing portion of a window framing member, thereby holding the forward panel portion in substantially vertical direction, another arm portion adapted to be fastened to a horizontally extending portion of a window frame, thereby holding the forward panel in substantially 10 vertical position, the central portion of the panel being struck from the panel along a parting line and the struck portion of the panel being offset forwardly of the panel so as to constitute a housing for reception of an endwise portion of a fascia board, the said housing being located upon said forward panel adjacent one longitudinal edge thereof.

JOHN S. STARK. 

